Please tell Mnangagwa our meat is rotting!

Tendai Ruben Mbofana

Amidst the pomp and fanfare, Mnangagwa proudly and confidently declared that Zimbabwe’s perennial power crisis had finally come to an end. 

This was after the country had been enduring up to 20 hours of daily power outages, in some areas – due to a woeful dearth in adequate power supplies, on account of antiquated and poorly serviced equipment.

He, nevertheless, did not stop there but also challenged anyone whose meat rotted in their fridge – as a result of the unlikely event of future power cuts – to approach him personally with the matter!

Well, almost immediately after the 23rd and 24th August harmonized elections, those dreaded and seriously inconveniencing power cuts were back with a vengeance.

The nation is still in the dark (no pan intended) as to why we suddenly had ‘enough’ electricity during that period.

However, Zimbabweans have come to expect all manner of trickery and chicanery from the ruling establishment.

It is quite possible that the government merely imported plenty of electricity from our neighbors, knowing fully well that the country was still not producing sufficient energy for its domestic needs. 

Of course, some of us had always raised valid concerns over the numerous claims by the Mnangagwa administration – most of which do not stand up to intelligent scrutiny. 

In regards to the electricity issue in Zimbabwe, I even penned a piece (on 22nd March 2023) entitled, ‘Is Hwange Unit 7 another big scam and con job’.

As much as there are those who may view my thoughts and observations as too cynical and always negative – but this is a result of decades of relentless deception authored by the Zimbabwe regime. 

It should be known that people who are always skeptical and suspicious about a particular individual have good reason for doing so.

Most have been at the receiving end of countless lies and broken promises at the hands of the individual, such that they always take whatever he says with a pinch of salt. 

There is always a need to pay extra attention to, and place under close scrutiny, his every word. 

That is why in that article, I questioned so many aspects of Hwange Units 7 and 8 that did not make sense to me.

These included why deadlines for the units’ completion were never met and constantly deferred, as well as the logic behind sourcing a staggering US$1.2 billion loan from China, yet Zimbabwe is endowed with vast mineral resources. 

Not unsurprisingly, this piece of writing attracted a lot of attention from those within the system, who had some interesting information to share with me. 

However, the gist of my discourse, this time around, is not to question the true viability of these new thermal power generation units.

I am more troubled with the persistent propensity for lying and deception by the Mnangagwa administration.

Why did they have to mislead the nation – solely for the sake of political expediency?

As much as some may perceive this as a small insignificant thing – to be expected during the election season – however, there are always severe consequences.

For instance, having assured the corporate world that Zimbabwe’s energy crisis had finally been resolved – what is the sudden resurgence of power cuts going to do to investor confidence?

Will investors, both local and foreign, be prepared to sow their hard-earned monies in a country where what the leadership pronounces is not to be trusted?

This morning alone, it was so heartbreaking listening to the ZNCC (Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce) CEO Christopher Mugaga stating that business is losing between US$70 and US$80 million each month due to these persistent power cuts.

In so doing, this may likely lead to increased prices of goods and services – as these losses are passed on to the consumer – further worsening the already dire situation of the ordinary citizenry. 

Let us remember that, under the Mnangagwa regime, half the population has been thrown into extreme poverty, whilst two-thirds of the workforce earn below the poverty datum line. 

What is to be the fate of the citizenry now that the already unaffordable prices of basic commodities are set to become even more out of reach?

All this largely because we have a government that can not tell the truth!

If those in power had been honest all along – that the country’s power crisis had not been averted and was far from over – this would have enabled the business community to be better prepared.

Who knows, maybe due to the false assurances that the days of load shedding were past us, some corporates decided to shelf any plans for alternative power sources – opting to invest the capital elsewhere.

Yet, only to be met with a rude awakening a few days after the elections!

The government of Zimbabwe needs to show some seriousness in their operations. 

My late father, in his profound wisdom, taught me that lies had short lifespans and the repercussions were never good for anyone.

There was really no need to lie to the nation that our power challenges had been resolved.

All the ZANU PF regime had to do what tell the nation that Hwange Units 7 and 8 were completed (if that is really he truth) – but emphasizing that, due to aged equipment still being the majority in operation, power cuts will inevitably reoccur. 

This would have given both commercial and domestic consumers a clear picture so as to enable proper planning.

Not only that, but by lying that there is no longer an electricity shortage in Zimbabwe, this had the potential of dissuading and discouraging potential investors in the energy sector – who would regard any investment as not profitable.

Indeed, lies have a very short lifespan and have a tendency of backfiring in a big way!

All we can now do is brace ourselves for increased prices of goods and services – just because we have liars in power.